Summary: Flash memory is not the same as the type of memory used as your system RAM. They have different characteristics and they're accessed differently.
Can I use a USB RAM stick to increase system memory?
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No.
That was simple. But to avoid this becoming the shortest Ask Leo! article ever, let me explain why.
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As you can probably guess by now, all memory is not created equal. Your system memory typically resides on your computer's motherboard, and uses a very high speed interface to connect to your computer's CPU. In fact, as fast as that interface is, it's still not as fast as we would like it (so true about so many things), and most modern CPUs actually copy or "cache" blocks of memory internally where they can access it even faster.
One of the characteristics of system memory is that when you remove power, *poof*, the memory has lost whatever it contained. Time to reboot.
USB Memory Sticks, on the other hand, are expected to retain whatever you put in them when the power is removed. Heck, they're expected to retain their memory when they're completely removed from the computer. As a result they use a different memory technology typically called "flash ram", which does exactly that. It's called "flash" because the memory contents are loaded, and then a special signal is sent that, in a sense, tells the memory to "remember this, now". It's kind of like taking a picture with a flash on your camera ... the picture "remembers" the state of everything when the flash went off. Flash BIOS is called that for the same reason - it's just flash memory that contains your computer's BIOS.
The downside to flash RAM is that it's slower. Reading flash memory is slower, and writing to flash memory is MUCH slower. It works fine as a virtual disk drive because our expectations for a disk's speed are quite different than what we expect for system memory.
In addition to the issue of the memory's own speed, there's also the USB interface to consider. As fast as it is for other purposes, it, too, is significantly slower than your system's main memory.
So USB RAM sticks, memory sticks, key chain drives, geek sticks, whatever you call them, are great for portable data storage. But increasing your system's memory is an entirely different proposition.
Related:
Will my system be faster if I make my C: drive a flash drive? USB Flash drives are useful for many things, but not for running your system from them long term. We'll look at why, and a Windows Vista alternative.
How do I find out how much RAM is being used? Process Explorer is a useful way of determining how much RAM in your system is actually being used.
What is Virtual Memory? Virtual memory is conceptually somewhere between RAM and hard disk space; it's disk space used to maximize the amount of RAM available to programs.
How do I install my new USB device? Some USB devices simply require you plug it in to use them, but reviewing documentation that came with the device before you do is important.
Article C2327 - April 9, 2005
Hi Leo,
Thank you for your advice. I was about to go to the store to buy a USB stick to use as RAM after a widget I just downloaded is showing I'm using about 70-80% on average.
I was always reluctant to use USB devices for ayatem memory, but the price difference ($10 for the stick opposed to $50 for the 512MB of SDRAM) . Now my inner cheapskate is asking for a solution. How effective is virtual memory from the hard drive for being used as system memory and is there a cheap alternative method to getting more system memory?
Posted by: Leo (how ironic) at February 15, 2009 4:01 AMHi! Thank you for taking the time to help me but i have a memory stick that goes inside my desktop tower...how do i find out what kind and size it is? It has a few really long numbers on it...is there a search engine that i can put one of the numbers(maybe one is a serial number) in and it comes back with type and speed? I hope u could give me pointers to locate the answer.
Posted by: Jenny Thompson at August 16, 2009 2:39 AMWell, you can use USB stick for performance enhancement. I am using a software EBoostr, which layers between Harddish and RAM.
Copies contents from harddisk and saving them in USB and later providing the data to RAM. Dont know about others, but I am quite a fan and using my 4 GB USB.
Try it, i hope you find it too useful and CHEAP.
Posted by: Janib Soomro at August 18, 2009 11:45 PMU can use USB pendrive as RAM in Windows Vista & Windows 7. Read the full detailed explantion with screenshot on the link shown here
http://jeshmal4u.blogspot.com/2009/11/usb-pendrive-alternative-for-ram-in.html
06-Nov-2009
Posted by: Rajesh Perumal at November 5, 2009 2:22 PM
Flash memory may not speed up your PC in general, but if you have an insufficient amount of internal RAM, Flash memory does help and actually makes your pc faster.
Vista and windows 7 have an integrated option to use a USB stick as RAM, called 'ReadyBoost'.
This option is freely downloadable for windows XP here.
Posted by: Mark at January 20, 2010 11:25 AM